Fuel Uplift Analysis

Analysing the uplift of fuel at an airport is business modelling for the future – to plan infrastructure and operations for the future and to evaluate whether an airport can take on additional flights in the short and longer terms. It is a discipline that is very difficult to carry out but it is essential in order to correctly size fuel facilities and to ensure that capacity exists.

Fuel uplift analysis is challenging to get right. Across the sector there are various rules of thumb and crude tools in use to determine and predict fuel uplift – often with less than ideal results, and we have felt that a more analytical approach is necessary.

Why is fuel uplift analysis so important to get right?

Fuel uplift analysis has two significant impacts on fuel operations:

‘Gold-plated’ facilities: Facilities that are over-sized for the needs of the airport can place a huge financial burden on the fuel operator and the users (airlines). There is a burden from the initial capital or project outlay for the facilities.
In our experience every dollar that is spent unnecessarily on over-sized facilities can cost 10 or more dollars over the lifetime of that facility in increased operating and maintenance costs.

Future-proofing: The infrastructure at an airport must be able to support the existing levels of business. However, a growing airport may wish to attract new carriers and will have projected levels of new business. It is essential that the airport is able to guarantee that the supply of fuel will be robust and sufficient for its needs.

There is a clear need to get infrastructure sized correctly. Sizing based on fuel demand or fuel uplift is the most sensible way to do this.

Where eJet can help

Fuel uplift should never be based on rules of thumb, but should be properly calculated using a reliable tool. At eJet we have developed an in-house tool that accurately predicts fuel uplifts as well a range of other key indicators for the facilities.

For example, we can accurately calculate peak flow rates in a hydrant system so that hydrant lines are an optimum size, and adequate flow rates can be achieved. We can also predict the correct size of the into-plane fuelling vehicle fleet, and this can result in significant cost savings.